The Scotch whisky industry is enjoying unprecedented growth, with exports at an all-time high of nearly £3 billion last year and more than one billion bottles shipped overseas.

Despite growing evidence of an economic downturn, claims of a new “golden era” for Scotch were bolstered yesterday after the main industry body said that a total of 1.135 billion bottles were exported in 2007, up 8per cent on the previous year.

Export sales increased by 14 per cent to £2.8 billion in shipment value, the Scotch Whisky Association said.

The record year for Scotch came on the back of strong demand from markets in Central and South America, North America and Asia, where the loosening of import tariffs in India drove a 36 per cent lift in sales, to £33million. A growing appetite for premium-end spirits saw sales in Europe rise by 27 per cent to £1.1 billion.

It is welcome news for the Scotch industry, which suffered a blow to its esteem at the weekend after a Japanese whisky, Yoichi 20-year-old malt, won the prestigious single malt award in a competition run by Whisky Magazine. It is the first time a malt from outside Scotland has won the award.

To rub salt into the wound, Suntory Hibiki, the Japanese brand advertised by the jaded actor played by Bill Murray in the film Lost in Translation, took the award for best blend.

However, Paul Walsh, the SWA's chairman, said that the Scotch industry, which employs some 40,000 people in Scotland, should still be celebrating a record performance, generating £90 every second for the UK balance of trade. Capital investment worth £400 million was announced by the industry last year, including the building of the first major malt distillery on the Scottish mainland for 30 years, by Diageo at Roseisle on Speyside.